- AFP
- 3 Hours ago
Anas al-Sharif among five Al Jazeera journalists martyred by Israel
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- Web Desk
- Aug 11, 2025
DOHA: Five Al Jazeera journalists were killed in an Israeli air strike near Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, the broadcaster confirmed. Nephew of the educator and researcher Raed M. Sharif, Anas al-Sharif, is also among the martyred journalists.
Correspondents Anas al-Sharif and Mohammed Qreiqeh, along with cameramen Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal, and Moamen Aliwa, were in a journalists’ tent at the hospital’s main gate when the attack took place.
Anas al-Sharif, fully aware of the risks his work entailed, had written a statement to be released after his death, which was shared on his X account alongside confirmation of his passing. He wrote, “I have lived through pain in all its details, tasted suffering and loss many times, yet I never once hesitated to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or falsification.”
He also shared his sorrow over having to leave his wife, Bayan, behind, and for not seeing his son, Salah, and daughter, Sham, grow up.
Another Al Jazeera correspondent, Hani Mahmoud, who was just one block away when the strike hit, said that Anas al-Sharif’s killing is the hardest thing he has had to do in the past 22 months of war. Al Jazeera termed the strike a “targeted assassination” and a “premeditated attack on press freedom.”
These journalists were targetted by the Israeli forces because of their relentless pursuit of truth and exposing starvation, famine and malnutrition being caused due to Israeli aggression.
Quds News Network shared photos of Anas al-Sharif as a child, watching reporters covering Israel’s 2008–2009 bombing of Gaza. At the time, just a boy himself, he watched reporters in action, dreaming of one day becoming one himself.
Egyptian TV host and analyst Bassem Youssef shared the news of al-Sharif’s targetted assassination, with a reminder of how Shireen Abu Akleh was also killed for sharing the truth with the world.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) later said it targeted al-Sharif, accusing him of heading a Hamas cell. According to a report by Al Jazeera, “Muhammed Shehada, an analyst at the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, said there was ‘zero evidence’ that al-Sharif took part in any hostilities.” The United Nations special rapporteur on freedom of expression, Irene Khan, had also said that “she was deeply alarmed by repeated threats and accusations of the Israeli army against al-Sharif.”
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Al Jazeera’s managing editor, Mohamed Moawad, rejected the Israeli claim, calling al-Sharif an accredited journalist and “the only voice” reporting from Gaza. He said the journalists were not on the front lines but were still targeted.
International journalists remain barred from entering Gaza, leaving global media dependent on local reporters.
JOURNALISTS’ BODIES CONDEMN ATTACK
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemned the attack, noting Israel often labels slain reporters as militants without providing evidence.
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This is not the first such incident. In August last year, Al Jazeera’s Ismael Al-Ghoul was killed in a similar strike, a claim of Hamas involvement again denied by the network.
According to CPJ, at least 186 journalists have been killed since Israel’s military campaign in Gaza began in October 2023.
The Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate condemned what it described as a “bloody crime” of assassination. Israel and Al Jazeera have had a contentious relationship for years, with Israeli authorities banning the channel in the country and raiding its offices following the latest war in Gaza. Qatar, which partly funds Al Jazeera, has hosted an office for the Hamas political leadership for years and been a frequent venue for indirect talks between Israel and the militant group.
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